1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved container for storage, portage, and display of laser disks or other disk-like media. In particular, this invention relates to such a container which, while useful for a single disk, is especially suitable for two or more disks. As used herein, the term "laser disk" is intended to include also the terms "optical disk," laserdisk," "laserdisc," and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Disks containing optically recorded information are well known in the area of sound recording, i.e., compact disks, and in the area of storage of business records. More recently, large-format optical disks, the so-called laser disks, have begun to become very popular for recording video information for sale or rental to the general public. Disks of this nature are subject to warpage, and can be relatively difficult to handle, store and package in a protective way for rental purposes. The public demand for the rental of such disks is growing rapidly; however, prior to the instant invention, no fully satisfactory container was available to retail rental companies.
One container, known by the trademark "Fortress," consists of two round, slightly convex covers hinged together to form a compartment in which a single optical disk rests solely on a circumferential ledge in one of the covers. Since no other support is provided, the disk is not protected from warpage, and protection from external damaging forces is speculative. Moreover, since the disk is not retained by any gripping means, it will fall out if the container is accidentally opened, or is opened upside down.
Another type of container comprises a bulky, vacuum-molded book-like structure in which an optical disk is placed on one side and various printed materials are placed in sleeves on the other side. The disk side comprises an indented area of slightly greater diameter than a disk, and of slightly greater depth than the combined thickness of two disks. A disk is placed over a tapered hub of diameter slightly less than the diameter of the disk's center hole; the disk is pressed over, and retained by, edge ridges on the circumferential wall of the indented area. While it is physically possible to insert two disks on the one side, one on top of the other and theoretically separated by the retaining ridges, in actuality, the disks are found to be in intimate contact with each other, thereby causing substantial risk of damage to the recorded information on both disks. Further, once fully inserted, a disk is quite difficult to remove without a potentially damaging degree of bending. Moveover, this special-purpose package is too bulky for efficient shelf storage and is not even available to the video retail rental market. In addition, the vacuum molding process of manufacture, being relatively expensive, would make such packaging unaffordable to retailers.
The only other type of packaging available for laser disks is a sleeve assembly, either in plastic or paper or a combination of the two, virtually identical to the standard container for phonograph records. Such sleeves provide little or no protection from warpage or damage from external forces.
No device is presently available for packaging one or more laser disks in a simple, dependable, protective, cost-effective manner. The instant invention addresses these problems by providing a sturdy, relatively rigid container for one or more optical or other disks of similar type which is economical to manufacture and relatively thin in profile, so that it can conveniently be stored on the retail dealer's shelves, and will adequately protect the disks when in the hands of the renting public.